In the rear courtyard of the Ninshu, the aftermath of the chakra still raged.
The fierce battle between Indra and Asura had entered its climax.
In the end, although Indra displayed overwhelming individual strength, he was alone and had no reinforcements, while Asura had already gathered a group of loyal followers around him. Indra gradually fell into a disadvantage during the prolonged battle.
After a heaven-shaking explosion, Indra was forced back by Asura and everyone else working together.
He knelt on one knee, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. His handsome face was filled with anger, unwillingness, and deep exhaustion.
"...Asura, you really did choose the weakest path."
"But I won't admit defeat here. One day, I will prove that only absolute strength can bring true order."
Indra coldly looked at his younger brother, hatred practically tangible in his eyes.
After saying that, Indra forced himself to stand and used Lightning Body Flicker to disappear.
Although the disciples of the Ninshu wanted to pursue him, Asura stopped them.
"Let him go... He is still my elder brother after all."
Indra left the Ninshu alone.
From then on, the two brothers completely went their separate ways, and the shinobi world also began moving toward new division and turmoil.
And in the chaos of this great battle, Yumeko completely disappeared.
No one knew where she had gone.
Some said that when Indra attacked the Ninshu, during the several terrifying chakra clashes that erupted in the rear courtyard, Yumeko had unfortunately been caught in the aftermath and blasted into ashes on the spot, without even leaving a corpse behind.
After all, that power was simply too astonishing. Even sturdy buildings had collapsed in large sections. It seemed perfectly normal for an ordinary woman to be caught in it and killed.
Others whispered that the wife of the Sage of Six Paths might have escaped in the chaos. After all, Indra had explicitly said that he wanted to take his mother away. Perhaps she had been afraid of being dragged into the conflict between the brothers and chosen to hide herself.
After the news spread, the entire Ninshu was shrouded in a faint gloom.
The Sage of Six Paths, Hagoromo, stood in the middle of the ruined rear courtyard, his brows tightly furrowed and his expression more solemn than ever before.
Hagoromo's Rinnegan, which had witnessed countless vicissitudes, was filled with worry and confusion.
"Reiko... where exactly did you go?"
Over the years, although Reiko had always acted gentle and virtuous, Hagoromo could vaguely sense that she was hiding some secrets.
But Hagoromo had never investigated further, simply taking them as the little secrets unique to his wife.
Now that the great battle was over, she had suddenly disappeared without a trace, filling Hagoromo with a strong sense of unease.
Hagoromo immediately ordered the core disciples and elders of the Ninshu to search everywhere. He even personally acted, using the power of the Six Paths to sense the entire Ninshu and even the surrounding mountain ranges, but found nothing.
Yumeko seemed to have evaporated into thin air, leaving behind no trace of chakra.
At the same time, Indra, who had left the Ninshu only a few months earlier, also received the news.
"Mother... has disappeared?"
Indra stood atop a cliff. After hearing his subordinate's report, his expression instantly darkened.
During these days, he had also gathered some subordinates.
There were also some followers who believed in strength above all else.
Although Indra had broken with his father and younger brother, his feelings toward his mother had always been complicated and deep.
"Send people to search! Find Mother at all costs!"
"I want to see her alive, or see her corpse if she's dead. If the people from the Ninshu deliberately hid her..."
Indra ordered.
A flash of killing intent passed through Indra's eyes.
Over the following months, both the Ninshu and Indra's faction secretly searched for traces of Yumeko.
In the end, every search ended in failure.
Yumeko had completely disappeared from the sight of everyone in the Ninshu.
———
In the north of the world, on a small island, inside a hidden underground cave, dim firelight flickered.
Yumeko sat cross-legged on a flat rock, her face slightly pale.
These days, because she had bound herself to Black Zetsu, she had also obtained Black Zetsu's characteristics, while possessing the powers of both Indra and Asura.
Yumeko was living quite well.
———
Time flew, and several decades passed in the blink of an eye.
The shinobi world had long since split into two major factions because of the dispute between Indra and Asura over their ideals.
The descendants of the two brothers also inherited different concepts of ninjutsu. Although war had not fully broken out, it was constantly brewing in secret.
The Ninshu had not split at this point, but Indra had already developed his own clan.
At the headquarters of the Ninshu, inside a simple and solemn stone chamber.
The Sage of Six Paths, Hagoromo, had grown extremely old.
His once imposing body was now hunched over, his black hair had long since turned white, and the wrinkles on his face were deep as if carved by knives.
Hagoromo lay on a soft couch, his breathing weak as the flame of his life slowly went out.
Only a few of his most loyal disciples and elders remained around him.
Asura had long since inherited his will and was now kneeling beside the bed, tears in his eyes.
"Father..." Asura's voice was hoarse.
Hagoromo slowly opened his eyes. The eyes that had once contained the power of the Six Paths were now cloudy.
Hagoromo smiled weakly, raised his trembling hand, and gently placed it on Asura's head.
"Asura... you have done well. Remember, true peace... has never depended on strength, but on connecting people's hearts..."
After saying this, he breathed weakly, but his gaze gradually drifted into the distance, settling in empty space as if searching for something.
After a long while, Hagoromo finally spoke in an almost breathless, feeble voice, "I... want to see Yumeko one more time before I die."
As soon as these words were spoken, the entire stone chamber fell into complete silence.
Asura's body trembled, pain appearing in his eyes.
All these years, they had never given up searching for their mother, but their mother seemed to have completely disappeared from this world, leaving no clues behind.
"Father... Mother, she..." Asura hesitated.
"I know."
"It's been so many years. She may already be dead.", Hagoromo sighed softly.
"When she suddenly disappeared back then, I vaguely guessed that it might have something to do with the conflict between me and the children."
"She was always like that. Gentle on the surface, but hiding many secrets inside... I never truly understood her."
After saying this, a cloudy tear slowly rolled down the corner of the Sage of Six Paths Hagoromo's eye.
Asura suppressed his grief and nodded heavily.
"I will, Father. I will use everything I have to find Mother, if she is still alive."
The news quickly spread.
Indra also received word of Hagoromo's final wish.
Although he had long since broken with the Ninshu, Indra eventually secretly sent even more people to search.
Yet there was still no result.
———
[In a Hidden Cave in a Remote Mountain Range]
Yumeko leaned against the stone wall. Over the years, she had barely changed at all. Thanks to the power of the Chakra Mother Goddess System, her appearance had remained that of a young woman, but her eyes were deeper and more tired than they had been back then.
She already knew the news from outside.
"Hagoromo... is going to die?"
Yumeko hugged her knees and murmured softly.
But in the end, Yumeko still chose not to come out. She was afraid of angering the Observer again.